[link id=”81″ tax=”category” text=”Kenya”] dominated the men’s 3000m steeplechase on Day 3 of the 2015 IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China, with [link id=”261″ tax=”post_tag” text=”Ezekiel Kemboi”] proving that he’s the consummate championship competitor by taking his fourth consecutive world title and seventh straight medal at the [link id=”522″ tax=”post_tag” text=”IAAF World Championships”].
After 2013 world silver medallist [link id=”262″ tax=”post_tag” text=”Conseslus Kipruto”] towed the field through the first kilometre in 2:49.50 and then increased the pace slightly to reach 2000m in 5:36.77.
With 30m to go, it was Kemboi, at 33 the oldest man in the field, who again found a change of gear and he crossed the line in 8:11.28, before pointing at his head with both hands to indicate that he was still the boss.
Conseslus Kipruto, still only 21, took his second successive silver medal in 8:12.38 while the ‘other’ Kipruto – Brimin Kiprop – returned to the podium in third place.
Ezekiel Kemboi of Kenya crosses the finish line to win gold in the Men’s 3000 metres steeplechase final during day three of the 15th IAAF World Athletics Championships Beijing 2015 at Beijing National Stadium on August 24, 2015 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images for IAAF)
The only slight surprise was that [link id=”527″ tax=”post_tag” text=”Jairus Birech”], the fastest man in the world for the past two years and 2014 Diamond Race winner, was edged out of the medals.
However, Birech’s fourth place finish meant that not only had [link id=”81″ tax=”category” text=”Kenya”] got a clean sweep of the medals for the third time ever in this event but they also filled the first four places, a feat only achieved twice before in IAAF World Championships history – by the USA in the 2005 men’s 200m and [link id=”82″ tax=”category” text=”Ethiopia”] in the women’s 5000m the same year.
(Report: IAAF)
